It is becoming more common to construct building walls from panels that had been prefabricated in a factory. These panels are often made with a steel frame, since steel is lighter, less costly and results in a panel which is more true than a wood framed panel. These panels heretofore have been constructed with a single panel for each wall or a few rather large panels when the wall is too long for a single panel.
There are several shortcomings with these prior art prefabricated building panels. Because the panels typically cover an entire wall, they are quite heavy and it takes a large truck to deliver them to the site and several workers to erect them. In addition, because the panels typically are custom built for a particular job, the panels must be ordered several days in advance. This can result in delays to the project if the panels are not ordered enough in advance or their fabrication is delayed.
Another shortcoming of steel frame panels is that steel has a high thermal conductivity compared to wood, which makes it difficult to obtain the wall xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d value required by most building codes. Finally, building tradesman, such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians and the like, are use to working with wood framed buildings and have an aversion to working with steel framed panels.
In a preferred embodiment the subject invention overcomes these shortcomings of the prior art building panels by providing a method for constructing building walls from prefabricated modular panels wherein a plurality of full wall height panels are provided in several widths, all of which are less than full wall width. In addition, a full height corner element is provided. Thus, almost any length wall can be built by attaching appropriate width panels to one another and to corner elements.
In another preferred embodiment, header and sill panels are provided in several widths having less than full wall height. Whenever a window is to be installed a sill panel having a width which is greater than the width of the window and a height that causes it to extend substantially between the bottom of the wall and the bottom of the window is installed between adjacent panels at the bottom of the wall. A header panel having the same width as the sill panel and a height equal to the distance between the top of the window and the top of the wall is installed at the top of the wall. The window is then placed between the header and sill panels and studs are installed between the header and sill panels on each side of the window and at each side of the header and sill panels.
Whenever a door is to be installed a header panel having a width which is greater than the width of the door and a height equal to the distance between the top of the door and the top of the wall is installed between adjacent panels at the top of the wall. The door is then placed under the header panel and a frame is built around the door and below the header panel.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a hybrid modular building panel with a frame having a pair of vertical metal studs which are rigidly interconnected at their top and bottom ends by horizontal metal tracks. Depending on the width of the panel one or more intermediate studs may be located between the studs at the ends of the panel. A piece of structural building material is attached to each track and projects from the front edge of the track by a first predetermined distance. Strips of insulating material, such as high density foam, are attached to the front edges of the studs. The thickness of the pieces of insulating material is equal to the first predetermined distance. Thus, the front edges of the insulating strips are coplanar with the front edges of the pieces of structural building material.
The structural building material allows interior surface material, such as sheet rock or paneling, to be tacked to the panel at the top and bottom with a hammer and nails in order to hold the material in place while it is attached to the steel studs with screws. Crown and base molding can also be attached to the pieces of structural building material with hammer and nails. In addition, slots can be cut out of the pieces of insulating material and a piece of blocking lumber placed in these slots and attached to the studs, in order to attach cabinets to the walls. Finally, blocks are attached to the intermediate studs so that electrical boxes can be attached to them with hammer and nails.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a modular building system which includes a first frame unit having a pair of vertical first studs which are separated from one another by a predetermined center-to-center separation and have a first sheet of sheathing attached to them. The sheet of sheathing has a first edge which is inwardly offset from the side of the outside stud by a predetermined offset. The sheet of sheathing has a width equal to twice the predetermined center-to-center separation of the studs. Unlike the panels in the above-described embodiment, the studs in the panel of this and the following embodiments can be made from wood or a similar material as well as metal. If the first studs are metal, they may have horizontal metal first track sections attached to their top and bottom extremities which extend inwardly toward one another.
In another preferred embodiment, this modular building system also includes a second frame unit having a single vertical second stud. A second sheet of sheathing is attached to the second stud with one of its edges being offset from the side of the second stud by the same predetermined offset. The width of the second sheet of sheathing is no greater than the predetermined center-to-center separation of the first studs in the first modular frame unit.
In another preferred embodiment, walls are formed by joining first and second frame units together end-to-end, with an exposed margin of the piece of sheathing on one panel overlaying and being attached to the portion of the stud in the adjacent panel which the sheet of sheathing is offset from.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a modular system for framing interior walls which utilizes frame units consisting of a pair of parallel vertical studs which are joined together by top and bottom pieces.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.